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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. land — a country
  4. firm — a company
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. mug — a cup
  10. firm — steady
  11. firm — decided
  12. land — ground
  13. land — to come down
  14. cell — in biology
  15. mug — a face
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. ball — a dance
  18. cell — a phone
  19. ball — a great time
  20. cold — not warm
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. cold — an illness
  24. stick — a piece of wood

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com